TORONTO, January 15 – When it comes to building a winning foundation, jockey Jesse Campbell has found the ideal blueprint for success on and off the racetrack.
Over a nearly 18-year career, one that got out of the gates in Chicago in 1995, Ohio-born Campbell has always been a meticulous sort, constantly re-examining and re-assessing his riding options throughout the years.
It was that fine-tuned, forensic approach that prompted him to come to Woodbine in 2011, a decision that has paid off well in the form of consecutive top 10 finishes (sixth last year) and $7.3 million in purse earnings.
“I’m a planner,” said Campbell, who won 86 races at the Toronto oval in 2012, accompanied by four stakes victories, three with the late Audre Cappuccitti’s champion sprinter Essence Hit Man. “My mind is always going. So, when I felt that things were on the decline racing-wise in Chicago, I needed to formulate a plan. I had thought about Canada, Woodbine specifically, for a couple of years before I made the decision to come.
“I did my homework. I spoke to my agent and friend, Lindy McDaniel, and to my wife, Allyson. What I saw was opportunity. There was chance to ride quality horses at a fantastic facility that is well-respected throughout the world. I don’t make rash decisions. I never have. But I felt this was the right one to make.”
In two years, Campbell hasn’t merely survived in one of the continent’s most competitive colonies, he’s thrived. He’s made a total of 146 trips to the winner’s circle at Woodbine, including 10 stakes. He’s also increased the number of trainers he’s riding for, establishing himself as a sought-after jockey.
“I put Jesse on my horses because he doesn’t care about the odds or if the horse ran a bad race last time out,” noted conditioner Jamie Attard, son of veteran trainer Sid Attard. “If he isn’t going to win the race, he’ll ride right to the wire. He doesn’t give up.”
Again, planning was the key when it came to establishing relationships with horsemen.
“I brought Lindy with me when I came to Woodbine,” offered Campbell. “I could have hooked up with a local agent and we likely would have got off to a faster start than we did. But you can’t be short-sighted. We wanted to work on long-term success. So, the first few months were tough. But we knew better days would come. We constantly talked about a gameplan and what we could do to achieve our goal.”
That attention to detail doesn’t end at the races. Since 2005, the 35-year-old has pursued his other passion, home renovation, with similar vigor.
Campbell would spend hours watching home renovation shows, fascinated with transforming outdated or neglected dwellings into eye-catching places to live. He also made frequent trips to the library or book stores, bringing home literature in order to increase his knowledge on the subject.
Soon enough, curiosity turned into a vision.
“From the day I became a rider, my parents would remind me that it wasn’t going to be forever, that in one moment, my career could be over,” said Campbell, whose twin brother, Joel, is also a jockey. “When I really got into home renovation, I fell in love with it. There would be times when I was in Chicago where I would ride and then go to a house we bought and tear up carpet, rip out drywall and stay up late just working at that to get it sold. This is what I’ll be doing when I call it a day as a rider.
“My next door neighbor back home in Wheaton, Illinois, is a contractor and he helped me out huge,” continued Campbell. “We bought our first house in Barrington (Illinois) and then renovated it in less than three months. We turned it around and sold it for a $66,000 profit.”
The end result is Home Stretch Homes, Campbell’s Illinois-based home renovation company. Jesse is President, Joel is Vice-President and Treasurer, while Allyson handles Interior Design duties.
Home Stretch Homes has worked on five dwellings (flip homes and rental properties) since it was established a few years ago.
“We work really well together because we are both planners,” said Allyson, a former suite level manager at Arlington Park and group sales manager at Fair Grounds. “There are moments when you are working on houses that can be extremely stressful, but we both know at the end of it all, we can be proud of what we did.”
On the racetrack, business is also good. It’s why Campbell, who won five races on October 19, has little, if anything, to complain about.
“From the first time I came to Woodbine, I could feel the excitement in me,” said Campbell, who is riding at Fair Grounds over the winter months. “We live a little north from the racetrack and we’ve fallen in love with Canada. It was a big leap to make the decision to come ride here. But after all those conversations, hours spent discussing the idea, it’s worked out perfectly. We feel very comfortable.”
Allyson agrees.
“It took time to get settled, but we are very happy,” she said. “Jesse loves being at Woodbine. He’s constantly raving about the turf course and just how great the facility is. We’ve been lucky to have met a lot of wonderful people there. It was a major life-changing experience to make the move here and it took some adjusting to at times, but we’re happy that we did it.”
It’s certainly comes as no surprise that everything went according to plan.